Starling Travel

When you are staying at a hotel with a weak wi-fi signal, a homemade wi-fi booster antenna like this one can be a godsend.

• Gadgets Page » Ikea Hack: Wi-Fi Antenna

Here is are the directions to make yourself one, including Amazon.com links to the materials:

Materials:

• A parabolic strainer (from Ikea or Oxo)
• A USB Wi-Fi adapter (Mutated Jellyfish said that the Motorola brand didn’t work, so here’s a link to a different one: Belkin ME1001-USB Wireless USB 2.0 Adapter 802.11g at Amazon.com
• USB extension cord: Dayton USB 2.0 Extension Cable Black 3.3 ft. at Amazon.com
• Popsicle stick or anything to mount the USB adapter: Freezer Pop Sticks at Amazon.com: Mutated Jellyfish used a marker.
• Black electrical tape: 3M 49656 “Scotch” Vinyl Black Plastic Electrical Tape at Amazon.com: Mutated Jellyfish used scotch tape, but electrical tape will look nicer, hold better and last longer.

Instructions:

• Connect the USB wi-fi adapter to the USB extension cable.
• Tape the wi-fi adapter to the end of the popsicle stick.
• Mount the popsicle stick onto the strainer with the USB wi-fi adapter as close to the center of the strainer as possible. Tape it in place wrapping the electrical tape around the stick, the handle of the strainer and the USB extension cord.
• Plug in the USB extension cord into your laptop and turn the wi-fi antenna until you are able to get the best wi-fi signal.

If you pack this wi-fi booster antenna in your car on your next trip, your likeliness of getting wi-fi at your hotel increases exponentially. Give it a try!

• @msjen After years of dealing with spotty hotel Internet, I have learned to wait until I get home to upload my videos and photos. in reply to msjen #

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The Sands Motel has been a fixture in St. George, Utah for a LONG time. In the Fifties, it was called the Sleepy Hollow Hotel:

When the Vegas craze hit during the Sixties, it became The Sands Motel and outlived its namesake:

A few years ago, when we were driving through St. George, we took photos of it in all its glory:

You can see all the photos here:

• Sands Motel - a set on Flickr

Where:

Sands Motel
581 E Saint George Blvd
Saint George, UT 84770 Google Map

Phone: (435) 673-3501

• Gorgeous photo of a spider web (scroll down the page) http://bit.ly/5W3zh #

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Two-Heel Drive has a beautiful review of the Guadalupe River Trail in San Jose. You can read it and see all the lovely photos here:

• Two-Heel Drive - A human-nature hike on the Guadalupe River Trail

Speaking of flowers, the best excuse for walking the Guadalupe River Trail is to check out the nearby San Jose Municipal Rose Garden. A couple years back it was a monument to the city’s errant previous mayor, who could introduce appalling City Hall structures to stroke his ego but could not prevent the once-glorious rose garden from declining into an embarrassing state of disrepair. The good news is it’s great now — a riot of pure rosy loveliness, even with blooms fading a bit with summer’s approach.

Where: The Guadalupe River Trail San Jose, California

Length: 11 miles open (discontinuous)

Surface: Gravel – Alviso at Gold Street to Highway 880 (6.3 mi.)
Paved – Highway 880 to Grant St/Highway 280 (2.7 mi.) Paved – Chynoweth Avenue to Lake Almaden Park (2.0 mi.)

The Library of Congress posted these imaginings of what the future would look like. Here is what they called a shipwreck of the future.

It reads:

A shipwreck of the future, when passengers are carried between Europe and America in the air.

Liner Icarus, in mid-ocean, December 26, 1919, 3:10 pm. By wireless to The Tribune: A disastrous explosion (cause yet unascertained) in our motor room at 5:12 this morning made it necessary to descend. Unfortunately, the waves were running high and our rudder was broken. Wind increased rapidly and our stern was battered till we threatened to sink. Our airships have come to our rescue, as have some submarines and freight steamer Lusitania, formerly used for passengers. All hands will be saved beyond a doubt, except those in the motor room, which is now submerged.

This was published in 1909, so they have set this future in 1919, almost twenty years before the tragic Hindenberg disaster. Unfortunately, the Lusitania didn’t last until 1919 because it sank in 1915. The first solo transatlantic flight didn’t even happen until 1923, thanks to Charles Lindbergh.

I find it fascinating to see how the past viewed the future. Now that we can fly across the ocean whenever we want, it’s hard for me to remember that it used to take MONTHS on the Lusitania.

• RT @ariyaporn: Reading: “Travel And Leisure: 6 Tips to Traveling by Car, Truck Or SUV With Children” http://bit.ly/wuy5a #

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• RT @aviationnewsrel: Air France 447 - French to head A330 inquiry as search turns up more debris: http://tinyurl.com/or8lgc #

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My friend, Jere, is the author of the most wonderful blog, Blind Prophecy. This Memorial Day, he went to the Cincinnati Zoo.

• Blind Prophecy » Wild and Wet Memorial Day

He was looking for an inventive and enjoyable way to fit exercise into his day.

Since my gym was closed, I decided to get my day’s exercise by visiting the Cincinnati Zoo. It’s about a 3 mile walk each direction, plus I spent the whole day on my feet. Despite a bit of rain and some very humid air (which made the rain forest section seem especially realistic), it was a very pleasant day. As our friend Nick put it tonight, “the zoo is one of the rare things about Cincinnati that doesn’t suck.”

I love to see people enjoying the cities in which they live. Sometimes it seems like we don’t spend enough time being tourists in our our towns. Congratulations to Jere for making this Memorial Day memorable!

You can see all the photos here:

• Cincinnati Zoo - a set on Flickr

Kevin has had a frustrating experience with the Virgin America website. He was trying to book a flight, ended up getting charge for TWO flights and they still want to charge him for the extra seat.

• kev/null - Virgin America: How a Bad Website Can Kill Good Will

The most frustrating part of this entire episode is how it feels like we’ve been blamed and then penalized for an error on their part. All the good will garnered through their savvy multi-million dollar marketing, fancy mood lighting and in-air WiFi was washed away because of one website error they wouldn’t take responsibility for.

Virgin is supposed to be the coolest and hippest way to fly with their electrical ports and Internet access, but one bad experience with their buggy reservation website killed all of it.

Bad form, Virgin America, bad form.